Annual Homelessness Point-in-Time Survey Results Released

As the Fairfax-Falls Church community begins to implement its 10-year
Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, the 2008 Point-in-Time Survey
released today provides the latest snapshot of the number of homeless
individuals and families in the Fairfax-Falls Church
area.

The 2008 Point-in-Time Survey shows the number of homeless people in the
community has stabilized during the past year, even though some
fluctuations in the overall numbers can be detected:

Overall, there were 1,835 homeless people counted in the community, a
slight increase from 1,813 in 2007.

The number of homeless families increased slightly to 311 compared to
307 in 2007. Nearly 60 percent of all homeless people were in families
and 66 percent of adults in these families were employed.

There were 670 homeless children counted in the community, a slight
decrease from 674 in 2007. Out of all homeless people, 36 percent were
children and 75 percent of these children were under the age of 12.

The number of homeless single individuals increased slightly to 744
from 730 in 2007.

The annual count covers people who are literally homeless – those who
live on the street, in shelters or in transitional housing. People who
live in permanent supportive housing are not included in the final
numbers, but they will continue to be tracked. This reporting system
matches federal government guidelines. The count also does not include
people who live in temporary arrangements but do not face immediate loss
of shelter, or pay to live in a motel. However, outreach workers,
community and faith-based programs often work with families and
individuals living in these situations.

When this year’s count was conducted on Jan. 24, 2008, more than 20
nonprofit, faith-based groups and county agencies worked together to
collect the data from more than 60 homeless assistance programs,
including emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and other
locations.

Fairfax County is committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of
disability in all county programs, services and activities. To request
this information in an alternate format, call the Office of Public
Affairs at 703-324-3187, TTY 711.